After months of public criticism, the City of Parkville is taking a step back in its plans for Platte Landing Park.
At a meeting of the Parkville Board of Aldermen held Tuesday, Dec. 7, alderman Brian Whitley suggested the city “de-escalate” the situation by backing away from placing a line item setting aside up to $2 million for Platte Landing Park community fields on the 2022 proposed city budget.
Whitley suggested replacing the community field line item with “implementing components of the Platte Landing Park and English Landing Park citizen engagement.”
Alderman Bob Lock voted no on the amendment, which passed 7-1.
The second reading of the proposed budget and community improvement projects will be Tuesday, Dec. 21.
Alderman Greg Plumb said half of that $2 million was a placeholder for grant funding from Platte County Parks and Recreation.
Prior to the budget discussion Mayor Nan Johnston said city administration was working to address concerns about Platte Landing Park.
“We do share some of the very same concerns that you have,” she said, addressing the public. “We agree with much of what you’ve said. Just know that you’re not falling on deaf ears and we’re trying our best to do the right thing. It’s just going to take a little more time.”
City administrator Joe Parente and Johnston spoke before the formal meeting agenda to respond to common public questions and concerns that have arisen over the past several months.
While the construction of ballfields in the park has been planned for some time and was included in master plans dating back to at least 2016, residents have complained that the plans presented in the past year did not match up to expectations. Earlier this year, aldermen pulled back on the installation of lights in sports fields due to this public outcry.
Parente said there is a common misconception that the proposed fields would be similar to the Creekside Baseball Complex, which was a private development. The fields in Platte Landing would be slated for community use, primarily for youth sports, he said.
Johnston observed the project had taken several turns over the past months.
“At first we were hearing no lights, no sound system, no tournament play, and now it seems there is a strong will to not have the fields at all,” she said.
Government processes move slowly, she said, and while the course can be reversed, it takes time to do so.
She said city officials had received mixed signals regarding construction of the fields. Parente said the public input process was ongoing and everyone needed to be patient to wait for its completion.
Alderman Dave Rittman said most public input he had received didn’t indicate people didn’t want fields at all, but there was a wide variety of opinions on what should be built there and for what purposes.
The city is also seeking public input via an online survey, available via the city website at parkvillemo.gov, at city hall and the Platte County Community Center South. Hard copies were also mailed out to residents.
City officials also addressed problems with the wetland restoration project, which has become overgrown and has not developed as expected.
Johnson said the contractor did a “terrible job” and asked if the Army Corps of Engineers would fix the mistakes the contractors made.
Parente said the city expects the Corps to correct the problems and staff have been working with them to address the concerns.
“It’s ongoing – it’s not something that hasn’t been attended to by the Corps of Engineers,” he said, with the federal government expected to cover the costs of repairs.
Ground was broken by the city and the Army Corps of Engineers on the wetland restoration project in early 2020, but since its completion questions have arisen about how the contractor, BKM Construction of Leavenworth, Kan. handled the project.
According to director of public works Alysen Abel, the cost to repair the wetland project could be upwards of $700,000. The city used the value of the park itself as its funding match in the project.
Parente said the city had been in touch with U.S. Rep. Sam Graves office to address concerns about the Corps project.